Album title: TrondheimSolistene – In Folk Style
Composer: Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), Emilia Amper (1981-), Gjermund Larsen (1981-)
Performer: TrondheimSolistene; Emilia Amper, nyckelharpa;  Gjermund Larsen, fiddle; Øyvind Gimse, artistic director; Geir Inge Lotsberg, leader
Genre: Classical
Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)
Location: Selbu Church, Norway
Release date: May 2010
Recording date: September 2009
Original source: Mastering in DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:58:02
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 1000 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 7.1 / 96 kHz / 9015 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1-ES / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 192 kHz / 13344 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#3: LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit

In Nordic Melodies we find Grieg in passionate play with folk songs. The work sparkles with harmonies and expression, developing a whole story from just a few short stanzas. The Holberg Suite, loved for its beauty and feared for its challenges, is a fusion of European musical tradition and a genuine Norwegian sound palette. The Trondheim Soloists follow up with two brilliant soloists, Emilia Amper on nyckelharpa and Gjermund Larsen on fiddle, in newly commissioned music characterized by the same energy and tenderness. Wild nature and Nordic light are essential elements of the folk style. This lies at the core of the Trondheim Soloist’s soul, a meeting between the musical playfulness and passion. (more…)

Album title:  Edvard Grieg – Piano Concerto
Composer: Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907)
Performer: Percy Grainger, piano; Kristiansand Symfoniorkester; Rolf Gupta, conductor; Edvard Grieg, piano; Øyvind Bjorå, violin; Rex Lawson, pianolist
Genre: Classical
Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)
Location: Kristiansand Cathedral, Norway
Release date: August 2009
Recording date: February 2009
Original source: Mastering in DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 01:07:00
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 84 kbps / 1080p / 24 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 7.1 / 96 kHz / 8238 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 192 kHz / 12076 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#3: LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit

The magic of a “time machine” brings Percy Grainger’s original performance back to life in this modern surround-sound recording with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rolf Gupta. Edvard Grieg himself bears witness to the validity and authenticity of Grainger’s interpretation through his own enthusiastic endorsement: “I had to become sixty-four years old to hear Norwegian piano music interpreted so understandingly and brilliantly. He breaks new ground for himself, for me, and for Norway. And then this enchanting, profound, serious, and childlike naturalness! What a joy to gain a young friend with such qualities!”

In 2007, conductor Rolf Gupta gave the first Norwegian performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor with the legendary Australian pianist Percy Grainger (1882-1961) as the posthumous soloist. On this recording, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra accompanies Grainger’s original and controversial interpretation of the concerto. In addition, the violinist Øyvind Bjorå and pianolist Rex Lawson perform Grieg’s Violin Sonata in C minor. The recording also includes a handful of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, performed by the composer himself. Astonishingly, these performances have not been available to the public until now.

Two different instruments have facilitated Grainger’s and Grieg’s encounters with the KSO/Gupta in modern times. Grainger plays on a form of musical time machine, the Duo-Art reproducing piano, which is something like an analogue predecessor of the computer, powered by an electric suction pump, and controlled automatically by perforated rolls of paper. Grieg, on the other hand, has been restored to life by means of a foot-pedalled pianola, played by Rex Lawson. For this recording, both instruments were fitted in front of a Steinway concert grand piano and re-performed the playing of Grainger in 1921 and Grieg in 1906. (more…)